Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus

Abstract

In the case where a main image taking process and a preliminary image taking process are contained in mutually the same series, an MRI apparatus displays list-view information showing a plurality of image taking processes contained in the series, together with an editing screen used for editing image taking conditions for one of the plurality of image taking processes, on a single screen. Further, when a selecting operation to select one of the plurality of image taking processes out of the list-view information has been received, the MRI apparatus switches the display of the editing screen that is currently being displayed on the single screen to a display of an editing screen used for editing image taking conditions for the one of the image taking processes that has been selected.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus comprising:
 MRI gantry components including static and gradient magnetic field generators, at least one radio-frequency coil coupled to an imaging volume, RF transmitting and receiving circuits, at least one operator input/output device including a visual display, data storage and at least one control processor configured to control said gantry components by executing computer program instructions to effect: 
 display one of a plurality of overlapping editing windows, each overlapping editing window being configured for operator-setting of concurrently displayed MRI data acquisition parameters defining a respectively corresponding one of a plurality of mutually-related different types of MR image-taking processes, 
 display non-overlapped operator-selectable regions with each of the plurality of overlapped editing windows on a single display screen, the operator-selectable regions respectively corresponding to each of said MR image-taking processes, 
 wherein each of said MR image-taking processes includes an MRI scan that executes an MRI pulse sequence for acquiring magnetic resonance signals, and said operator-set MRI data acquisition parameters for said different types of MR image-taking processes have inter-related relevance to one another, and 
 wherein, when one of the non-overlapped operator-selectable regions is selected, switching from a display of one of the editing windows to a display of another one of the editing windows corresponding to another one of the MR image-taking processes is effected. 
 
     
     
       2. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein to make clear which one of the plurality of MR image-taking processes corresponds to the editing window that is currently being displayed when the non-overlapped operator-selectable regions are displayed, the display of the operator-selectable region corresponding to the one of the plurality of MR image-taking processes is highlighted. 
     
     
       3. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein the operator-selectable regions comprise tabs that are respectively associated with said MR image taking processes. 
     
     
       4. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein the display of MRI data acquisition parameters defining a plurality of MR image-taking processes includes a concurrently displayed locator image having visible regions of interest respectively corresponding to each of the image-taking processes. 
     
     
       5. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein
 a locator image is also concurrently displayed in which a region of interest is visually present for each of the plurality of MR image-taking processes, and 
 wherein the control processor is further configured to effect, when an operator selection of a different region of interest on the locator image is received, switching the display of the editing window that is currently being displayed to a display of an editing window used for editing a scan condition that corresponds to the different one of the regions of interest that has been selected. 
 
     
     
       6. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to  claim 5 , wherein the operator-selectable regions comprise displayed tabs that are respectively associated with said MR image taking processes. 
     
     
       7. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to  claim 5 , wherein to make clear which one of the plurality of MR image-taking processes corresponds to the editing window that is currently being displayed, an enhanced display is made of at least one of the following: (a) the operator-selectable region corresponding to the one of the plurality of MR image-taking processes; and (b) one of the visually displayed regions of interest corresponding to the one of the plurality of MR image-taking processes. 
     
     
       8. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the operator-selectable regions comprise displayed tabs that are respectively associated with said MR image taking. 
     
     
       9. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the display of MRI data acquisition parameters defining a plurality of MR image-taking processes includes a concurrently displayed locator image having visible regions of interest respectively corresponding to each of the image-taking processes. 
     
     
       10. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus comprising:
 MRI gantry components including static and gradient magnetic field generators, at least one radio-frequency coil coupled to an imaging volume, RF transmitting and receiving circuits, at least one operator input/output device including a visual display, data storage and at least one control processor configured to control said gantry components by executing computer program instructions to effect: 
 where a main scan and a preliminary scan that is performed prior to the main scan for a purpose of determining a MRI data acquisition parameter for the main scan are contained in a same series, display of list-view information showing a plurality of scans contained in the series together with each of a plurality of overlapped editing windows on a single display screen, each editing window being configured for operator-setting of concurrently displayed MRI data acquisition parameters defining a respectively corresponding one of the plurality of scans, 
 wherein the plurality of scans each executes a pulse sequence so as to acquire a magnetic resonance signal, and said operator-set MRI data acquisition parameters for said plurality of scans have relevance to one another, and 
 wherein when one of the scans shown in the list-view information is selected, switching from a display of said one of the editing windows currently being displayed to a display of another one of the editing windows corresponding to the selected scan is effected. 
 
     
     
       11. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to  claim 10 , wherein to make clear which one of the plurality of scans contained in the series corresponds to the editing window that is currently being displayed when the list-view information is displayed together with the editing window, the display of the scan shown in the list-view information corresponding to the one of the plurality of scans is highlighted. 
     
     
       12. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to  claim 11 , wherein the list-view information comprises non-overlapped displayed tabs that respectively associated with said plurality of scans. 
     
     
       13. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to  claim 11 , wherein the list-view information is configured with a concurrently displayed locator image having visible regions of interest respectively corresponding to each of the scans in the series. 
     
     
       14. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to  claim 10 , wherein
 a locator image is also concurrently displayed in which a region of interest is visually present for each of the scans contained in the series, and 
 when an operator selection of a different region of interest on the locator image is received, the display of the editing window that is currently being displayed is switched to a display of another editing window used for editing a scan condition for a scan that corresponds to the selected different region of interest. 
 
     
     
       15. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to  claim 14 , wherein the list-view information comprises non-overlapped displayed tabs that respectively associated with said plurality of scans. 
     
     
       16. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to  claim 14 , wherein to make clear which one of the plurality of scans contained in the series corresponds to the editing window that is currently being displayed, a highlighted display is made of at least one of the following: (a) the scan shown in the list-view information corresponding to the one of the plurality of scans; and (b) one of the visually displayed regions of interest corresponding to the plurality of scans. 
     
     
       17. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to  claim 10 , wherein the list-view information comprises non-overlapped displayed tabs that are respectively associated with said plurality of scans. 
     
     
       18. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to  claim 10 , wherein the list-view information is configured with a concurrently displayed locator image having visible regions of interest respectively corresponding to each of the scans in the series. 
     
     
       19. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus comprising:
 at least one processor with an associated memory and display configured to concurrently display (a) a subject image and (b) one of a plurality of overlapping editing windows for editing an MRI scan condition for one of a plurality of series of MRI scans, the series having relevance between scan conditions thereof and each including a scan that executes a pulse sequence for acquiring magnetic resonance signals, wherein 
 the subject image is displayed together with each of the plurality of overlapping editing windows on a single screen, 
 the subject image includes thereon a plurality of graphics each representing a different region of interest corresponding to one of the plurality of series of MRI scans, and 
 each of the editing windows includes thereon a parameter of a scan condition for one of the plurality of series of MRI scans and is used for editing the parameter of the scan condition; and 
 when a selecting operation to select one of the plurality of graphics on the subject image is received, a display of said one of the editing windows currently being displayed is switched to a display of another one of the editing windows corresponding to the selected graphic. 
 
     
     
       20. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising:
 at least one processor with an associated memory and display configured to concurrently display (a) a subject image and (b) one of a plurality of overlapping editing windows for editing an MRI scan condition for one of a plurality of MRI scans included in a series, the series including a main scan and a preliminary scan that is performed prior to the main scan for a purpose of determining a parameter included in a scan condition for the main scan, the scans each executing an MRI pulse sequence for acquiring magnetic resonance signals, wherein 
 the subject image is displayed together with each of the plurality of overlapping editing windows on a single screen, 
 the subject image includes thereon a plurality of graphics each representing a different region of interest corresponding to one of the plurality of MRI scans, and 
 each of the editing windows includes thereon a parameter of a scan condition for one of the plurality of MRI scans, and is used for editing the parameter of the scan condition; and 
 when a selecting operation to select one of the plurality of graphics on the subject image is received, a display of said one of the editing windows currently being displayed is switched to a display of another one of the editing window corresponding to the selected graphic.